M1 Garand
(.30-06)
One Cold Winter's Morning...
It is December, 1944. The clouds hung thick and low on what
was probably one of the coldest days on record. The German
army, previously thought beaten and ready to submit, had
launched a major offensive in the Ardennes forest, catching
the allies off guard. Thanks to the clouds, the air corps was
firmly grounded, unable to provide fire support or even to
send up scout planes to look around to help try to figure out
what was going on.
Positioned in a gully outside of an insignificant French town,
a group of three American soldiers spots an approaching enemy
patrol. Eight German soldiers were making their way down the
hillside in advance of the attacking column. A quick nudge
called the other men to alert and prompted them to get their
rifles ready. Slowly,
the patrol approached their position, unaware they had been
seen. Fingers cold and nearly frostbitten, a nervous Corporal
fumbled with his rifle, trying to insert a fresh clip. Knowing
there wasn't time to spare, the man next to him, one who had
managed to procure a set of cotton gloves from somewhere in
town grabbed the rifle, pressed the clip home, and
released the bolt.
It wouldn't be long now. The patrol was only about 75 yards
away and moving forward. At 50 yards, the command was given to
fire. Three of the Germans fell immediately while the
remainder took cover. With bullets impacting on the burm in
front of them, kicking up snow and gravel, the Americans took
deliberate aim and fired carefully. They knew that the Germans
would not surrender lightly, nor would they scurry away in a
hastey retreat. No, these men were here to stay. They wanted
this ground and were going to do whatever it took to get
it. But even outnumbered two to one, the Americans also knew that
their semi-automatic M1 rifles gave them a distinct advantage
over the Germans and their slower bolt action Mausers. Of
course, they also well knew that the German 8mm Mauser bullet
was a pretty even match for the American .30-06 so they
weren't about to take any chances.
The Corporal took a moment to breathe into his hands to try to
restore some feeling. He gazed through the sights on his rifle
over to where the most accurate fire seemed to be coming
from. Laying on the ground, behind the trunk of a large tree
was a German who seemed to really understand what was going
on. There were no signs of panic or frantic activity from this
soldier. This was clearly a battle hardened veteran. It would
not be long before this man managed to send a lethal shot into
the American position. But this corporal was not a newcomer to
battle either. Slowly, deliberately, carefully managing each
breath, just has he had been trained to do, he took aim at the
German and fired. Instantly, the enemy soldier stopped moving.
Looking to the left, he saw another crumple from a shot by the
man next to him. The corporal aimed and fired as he saw
another German appear close to the position of the one who
just fell and bring his rifle to bear. Three quick rounds from
his M1 and the German fell to the snow. But where were the
other two? Scanning off to the right, he noticed two "boddies"
where there shouldn't be any. Curiously, he watched these two
for a moment. It wasn't long before he saw the the further of
the two sereptitiously slide a satchel of grenades to the
nearer of the two. Alright, that was it. It was now or
never. Taking aim, he emptied his rifle at the two
soldiers. One had obviously been hit but he couldn't be
certain about the other.
Quickly, he grabbed another clip from his magazine belt and
shoved it into his rifle. Rising from his position, he
advanced cautiously towards the Germans while his fellows
remained behind, just in case. As he approached each one,
he tapped them with the barrel of his rifle to try to be
certain they were no longer a threat. Checking seven Germans, he
found seven dead men. That left the one he wasn't sure
about. Taking up a position a few paces to one side, he
pointed his rifle at the German who showed no obvious signs of
injury and shouted as fiercly as he could, "Surrender!
Verzicht!" but got no response. Taking a step closer, he
called again. Sensing his opportunity, the German quickly
rolled and raised a pistol but the Corporal was ready. Two
quick shots from his M1 and it was all over.
Reflections
Although fiction in this case, during the Battle of the Bulge,
as it became known, stories after this fashion are not uncommon.
All over the line, suffering horridly from the bitter
cold, men stood against the German advance. In more than one
instance, the only thing that challenged the German tanks was
nothing more than a squad of foot soldiers armed only with
rifles and hand grenades. Yet it was these rifles that had
helped to make the difference in the hand to hand fighting
that had occured up to this time.
Armed with the relatively new M1 rifle, officially known as the
"U. S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1", but more commonly known as the
Garand after it's creator, John C. Garand, these soldiers
had a distinct edge against their German counterpart. The Germans
were still armed with bolt action Mauser rifles. While these
rifles were accurate and proved effective in the hands of the
well trained German soldiers, the improved rate of fire from
the Americans often became the deciding factor in an
engagement.
Type: |
Semi-Automatic Rifle |
Action: |
Short stroke gas piston |
Caliber: |
.30-06 |
Capacity: |
8 |
Barrel Length: |
24 in. |
Overall Length: |
43.5 in. |
Weight: |
apx 10 lbs. |
Sights: |
Military Ring and Post, Adjustable |
Finish: |
Parkerized |
Market Price: |
$1,300 |
Developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and formally
accepted into service on January of 1936, the M1 Garand is one
of the most recognizable of all the World War II
arms. Initially resented because of its weight of 10 pounds,
2 1/2 pounds heavier than the 1903 Springfield then in use,
the troops who used this rifle soon began to appreciate what
it had to offer. Holding 8 rounds, 3 more rounds than
the '03, combined with the semi-automatic action
meant that the rifle gave the soldiers a greatly increased
rate of fire and kicked a lot less. Soldiers who had a
chance to use this rifle in combat soon couldn't be convinced
to go back to their Springfield rifles for any reason.
So successfull was this design that it remained in service not
only through the Korean conflict but saw use into Vietnam
before finaly being replaced by the short lived M14 which was
little more than a redesigned M1. Ultimately, nearly six
million M1 rifles were manufactured. These rifles continue to
be a favorite among collectors of martial arms. Even today,
this rifle still has ceremonial use with the United States
Marine Corps rifle drill team.
"en bloc" clips and ammunition
About the only real problem
people generally consider the M1 rifle to have is the use of
the en bloc clip. While fast loading, the clip could not
easily be topped off and the empty clip made a very
distinctive and quite audible "ping" when it was
ejected. There are constant stories and rumors of how this
cost American lives during the war but there is also
considerable doubt as to the authenticity of those
stories. Still, having a detachable magazine would probaby
have been the better option but it was considered that not
having a magazine protrude from the bottom of the rifle meant
it would be less likely to get snagged or damaged and was
actually considered an advantage over other designs.
Adding to my collection
Early in '08, I found myself in Cabella's browsing their gun
counter (I've gotta stop doing that... it's getting too
expensive), walked into the rare gun room and saw a rifle that
I could not pass up. They had an M1 Garand on display in what
looked to be very good condition. It even had a shoulder sling
with it that, while I'm not sure is original, looks the part and
deffinitely shows that it's been with the rifle for quite a
while. The only thing this rifle didn't have was the en bloc
clip but those can be had for a dollar a piece on ebay,
frequently sold in lots of 10 or more. I might not have
decided to pick it up except for the fact that my credit
card could handle it without melting, they're getting
kind of hard to find these days especially in good condition
(not unsurprisingly, those who buy them like to shoot them
– a lot), and when I asked the sales rep about the
condition of the rifle, he pointed out that they were doing a
"no tax" promotional which on this purchase was good for a
$100 discount. It was too good to pass up. And the best part
is that when I went to the counter to check out, the girl who
rung up the purchase stated that the item number came up $100
less than the listed price. So all told, I got it at $200 off
when it was already at a pretty reasonable price to start. And
naturally no martial arm is complete without the
various accessories
which I have documented elsewhere.
Wanting to learn more about this rifle and its history, I
subsequently purchased a book about the M1 and its variants by
a noted collector. This text provides some quite useful
information on the differences in parts and manufacturing over
the years this rifle was made. Using this text, I was able to
make
several observations
about my particular rifle which I have compiled in a
separate article.
Of course, the Garand has been out of production for many
years but that has not stopped interest in this rifle. In
fact, Springfield
Armoury is making new production model M1A rifles in
various configurations, from rifles that look and feel like the
original (even down to the parkerized finish) to models that
more closely resemble a modern assault rifle. These new rifles
are chambered in .308 which ballistically is very similar to
the .30-06 and a recognized NATO cartridge as the 7.62 x
51mm. Their rifle is also designed with a detachable magazine
holding 10 rounds with an optional extended magazine that holds
up to 20, thereby eliminating what I consider to be the one
major drawback of the original design and further increasing
the rate of fire.
Performance
One thing that no one will deny is that the .30-06 is a
powerful round. An afternoon at the range, going through 100
or more cartridges can pound the heck out of anyone's
shoulder. While I'm not especially sensitive to recoil, long
strings of fire with this rifle deffinitely takes it out of
me. Fortunately for me, I tend to get used to this sort of
thing fairly quickly and have now built up a somewhat higher
tolerance.
My buddy, Adam, firing the M1 Garand,
note the clip and casing still airborn
Once I had a chance to get this rifle out to the range and
really see what it was capable of, I was actually quite
impressed. Although my rifle has the standard military ring
and post sights on it, I found that I could quite readily hit
an the club's 18" gong that had been set out at 300
yards, however, I found also that, in my oppinion, my head is
too close to the rear sight to be able to sight adequately at
longer distances, requring me to adjust my head position
relative to the stock. At 100 yards, careful aim can easily
result in quite excellent patterns. If the rear sight were
changed to cross hairs, at 300 yards I doubt I would have any
problems at all holding an 8 inch group. Not bad for a rifle
with iron sights designed about 80 years ago.
Just as good today as it was when it was adopted
After settling in and running a couple hundred rounds through
this rifle on various trips to the range, I started to do pretty
well. Nowhere near marksmanship rankings but still quite
good. How good? To put it bluntly, if you're within 300
yards of me, say, "Ouch!" As you can see from the
targets, at 100 yards, everything ends up on the paper. A
steadier hand and custom loads would only make this
better. Out at 200 yards, I had no trouble hitting the
12" gong. At 300 yards, I put 8 of 10 rounds on the
18" gong and let me tell you, that's a very satisfying
sound.
Naturally, my friends wanted to have their turn at this as
well so on my last trip out to the desert, I gave them their
chance. They too found this rifle to be very easy shooting and
quite accurate. There is no doubt that good friends, a Garand,
and a couple hundred rounds can certainly make for an
enjoyable afternoon. One thing about high powered rifle rounds
is that they are far more damaging than subsonic, round or
soft pointed bullets. The kinetic energy contained in that
shell tends to create a strong shock wave that disrupts tissue
well away from the point of impact even if there is not a
great deal of cavitation and with overpenetration. In fact, it can
be argued that the round can actually do more damage to tissue
by passing all the way through than stopping half way because
of the effects of this pressure wave.
A testmant to the power of the .30-06
For our purposes that afternoon, our principle assailant was
the much feared alliance of grapefruit and watermelon. The way that fruit
sat there 25 yards away and just taunted us with their
continued existance... something had to be done. Adam grabbed
a full clip, pressed it home and took up firing
position. After carefully taking aim, he quickly assured that
this particular fruit along with its co-conspirators would
never bother anyone again. We were all very pleased.
The relative power of this cartridge was clearly evidenced by
the tiny melon fragments that remained behind after we were
through. (The ants and bees seemed to greatly appreciate this
donation and immediately began feasting on the flesh of our
enemies.) There litterally were no pieces left over about a
quarter of an inch in size except for one small fragment that
remained stationary with much of the mellon being completely
obliterated. Those pieces we could find were in some cases as
much as 20 feet from the target zone.
Perhaps a better illustration of the power of this round and what
it had the capability to do to an enemy soldier even at long
range is what this round did to a piece of 3/8" mild
steel. Two rounds, two very clean holes. I was actually
very surprised about the fact that not only did these rounds
penetrate that sheet but that they had plenty of energy to
spare and probably could have gone through even a 5/8ths
plate. Remember, this was with Remington 150gr MC rounds. In
otherwords, just ball ammunition. But at 2,750 fps, that 150
grains has about 2,500 ft-lbs of force. (To put this
into perspective, a .45 handgun only delivers about 460
ft-lbs.) Even if this round slows down to, say, 2,200 fps
after 300 yards, it will still deliver over 1,600 ft-lbs into
the target. That's more than enough energy to penetrate the
body armor of the day.
Final Thoughts
One way to draw attention to yourself at any shooting range is
to pull out a Garand. Just about everyone loves these rifles
and loves to see them in action. With very few exceptions,
every time I have taken this rifle out for some exercise, I have
had at least one person walk up to me and talk to me about
it, sometimes getting quite indepth. For me, virtually every trip
to the range is not simply entertainment but serious target
practice with an eye towards being the best shooter I am capable
of being. Of course, if you can't enjoy what you're doing,
there's almost no point to it. Being able to have a good, serious
conversation with the guy next to you about the armaments on
the line, to me, can be the best part of the trip.
Part of the reason for the fascination people have with this
rifle goes beyond the history and can be attributed to the
fact that fewer and fewer people can afford to have one in
their collection. As these wepons have become more desirable
over recent years
and therefore somewhat more scarce, prices for collectors
grade items have sky rocketed. For a field grade rifle, expect
to pay around $550 with the better service grade weapons going
for about $1,250. For a collector's grade, $3,000 is reasonable
and $6,000 is not unheard of. It is an unfortunate fact of life
that these prices will only go up from there.
Even before I got into firearms, I had a fondness for the
Garand. It's just a great rifle. Having gotten my mitts on
one and having learned a great deal more about them, I now
appreciate them just that much more. The M1 certainly wouldn't
be fun on a 10 mile hike through the woods but once I got
where I was going I'd feel a lot more at ease with that than
with a Mauser.
If you're interested in picking one of these up and want to
try your luck at the lottery rather than finding a random
rifle at a shop somewhere (these don't stick around long), I
recommend exploring the Civilian Marksmanship Program's
website at www.odcmp.org
along with their sales website
at www.thecemp.org. (You
must be a member of an affiliated club and meet certain
conditions in order to purchase directly from the CMP.)
I'm extremely happy with my purchase, consider myself to have
gotten a great bargain, and enjoy shooting this rifle every
time I have an opportunity to take it out to the range. Not
everyone is comfortable with the recoil of such a powerful
catridge but for those who don't mind it, the M1 is a truely
awesome weapon to shoot.
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